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Religion See other Religion Articles Title: Rabbis teach Catholics about church's persecution (WWWTP?) When the rabbi told the roomful of teenage Catholic boys that he'd never eaten a McDonald's cheeseburger because his religion forbids it, they stared at him in awe. Two of the boys raised their hands when Rabbi Alvin Berkun asked how many of them thought Jews and Catholics had been friendly toward each other in the past 2,000 years. "You guys are wrong," he told them. The whole idea behind Rabbi Berkun's recent lecture at Central Catholic High School was to help ease the lingering effects of historical tensions between Catholics and Jews and to recognize the special duty the Catholic Church has to teach its young about the awful legacy of Jews being persecuted by Catholics. Central Catholic students are being exposed to the complicated story of Judeo-Christian relations through a program called the Catholic-Jewish Education Enhancement Program, C-JEEP. Now in its fifth year locally, it is part of a nationwide effort by the two faiths to redefine their relationship to each other in positive terms. The program was founded in 1993 by the American Jewish Committee, a New York-based organization which promotes mutual cooperation and respect among people of all faiths. It is carried out in cooperation with local archdioceses in cities across the nation, including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The Diocese of Pittsburgh school system, which has 12 high schools, is the only one in the country which has adopted the program in all of its high schools. C-JEEP started here when Rabbi Berkun and Bishop Donald W. Wuerl joined to assign one rabbi to each Catholic high school to lecture several times a year in religion classes. Rabbi Berkun teaches freshmen and sophomores at Central Catholic about once a month. "This is one of the most exciting things I've been a part of in my almost 40 years as a rabbi," the spiritual leader at Tree of Life Congregation in Squirrel Hill said. Bishop Wuerl said the program was in Pittsburgh to stay. "What I hope will happen with our efforts is to provide a perspective in which our young Catholic people will see the relationship they have with the wider community, and especially the Jewish community, because of our ancient historic religious roots," Bishop Wuerl said. The Catholic Church of the Middle Ages was not kind to Jewish people. It restricted Jews and encouraged the separation of Jews and Christians. The Catholic Church promoted falsehoods about Jews during the violent medieval Crusades. It forced some of them living in Spain to convert to Christianity and expelled the others during the Spanish Inquisition. This month marks the 40th anniversary of an unprecedented move by the Catholic Church to atone for two millennia of sins against the Jewish people. On Oct. 28, 1965, the historic Second Vatican Council lifted the invisible curtain that separated Roman Catholics and Jews when it issued a landmark statement called "Nostra Aetate," which declared that Jews, as a people, were not responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The revolutionary statement, which was unveiled by Pope Paul VI, condemned any form of anti-Semitism in the Catholic Church. "In her rejection of every persecution against any man, the church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecution and displays of anti-Semitism directed against Jews at any time by anyone," the document states. Rabbi Berkun remembers the tenor of the times when the extraordinary event took place, questioning back then how effective it would really be in transforming the relationship of the two religions. "In a hierarchical church, it had to start with the pope," Rabbi Berkun said. "But I wondered about these ideas trickling down to Catholics in the pews and to the youth of the church." For many Catholic students, the C-JEEP program provides a first opportunity to talk to a Jewish person about his faith or come across someone from a totally different faith system. "I learned a lot about Judaism," said Jon Coulter, a Central Catholic freshman. "I don't have as broad a view as I thought I did. I really didn't know they had their own religious culture." Henry Pwono, a freshman, said the rabbi's visit to Central Catholic shattered many of the misinformed ideas he had about rabbis and Jewish people, starting with the way he thought rabbis dressed. Henry didn't expect Rabbi Berkun to wear a coat and tie, as he did, but some type of traditional costume. "I learned how much the Jewish and Christian faiths have in common and the history they share," Henry said. "I didn't know they both originated from Abraham. I thought the rabbi would accept their own religion more than Christianity. I thought the rabbi would criticize Christianity." Rabbi Berkun said he made no effort to convert the Catholic students. He wants to enhance their Christian faith by showing them the Jewish roots of Christianity. Jesus was a rabbi. And all the books of the Bible were written by Jewish people. Rabbi Berkun went on sabbatical two years ago and briefly retired last year. Despite his world travels during his temporary retirement and sabbatical, he arranged his schedule so that he never missed a month of teaching at Central Catholic. "I have waited my entire rabbinic life to be in a position to teach non-Jewish young people about the Jewish faith," he said. Lisa Steindel, executive director of the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Jewish Committee, is the wife of Rabbi Stephen Steindel. Both of them lecture in Catholic high schools as part of C-JEEP. Rabbi Steindel was teaching in a classroom at Quigley Catholic High School on April 19 when the new pope, Benedict XVI, was announced to the world on television. It was a moment of breathtaking symbolism. "The whole idea of a rabbi teaching at a Catholic high school 20 or 30 years ago was unheard of," he said. "I told the class that I hoped they remembered this moment. But I wanted them to know that I was sure I would never forget the coincidence. It has to be providential that we shared this moment." Mrs. Steindel lectures at Mount Alvernia and Oakland Catholic, two all-girls Catholic schools. The most poignant moment in the whole school year for her is when she takes the seniors on a field trip to a synagogue and unrolls the Torah so they can see that the Hebrew version of the Bible has no capital letters or punctuation. "That way, it makes it easier for me to explain how people of faith and goodwill can read this Bible and understand it differently," Mrs. Steindel said. "I think, in interfaith relations, that's a very clarifying moment." The dialogue between the Catholic students and Jewish leaders is yielding mutual insights and greater sensitivity to the hurt and tragedy that certain Christian beliefs have caused the Jewish people. When Rabbi Berkun asked students in the classes he lectured how many of them had ever heard of Jews being referred to as "Christ-killers," a few hands went up in each class. To Bishop Wuerl, that speaks volumes about how far the two faiths have come in reconciliation. "I think that is a tribute to and proof of the success of the efforts of the past 40 years because our young people today are simply being taught a positive perspective of their relationship with their Jewish brothers and sisters," Bishop Wuerl said. "The fact that they haven't heard of the animosity that used to exist says to me we have been successful in eradicating that antagonism."
Poster Comment: When do Catholics and Orthodox go into Jewish schools and talk about the Jewish crimes against Christians in the Soviet Union?
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#2. To: bluegrass (#0)
never. in fact, very soon it will be an outlawed subject.
Amazing, isn't it. And, they have America all freaking out over bogus enemy de jours--false bogeymen--be it the old alledged red menace or the new war on terror--while the real threat, takeover and control is occurring right under our noses.
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